Italy’s officially joining the China-led Belt and Road Initiative sparked a fierce debate. By analysing five fields of cooperation, the volume sheds light on whether the bilateral agreement has brought about an intensification of bilateral collaboration as wished by the Italian government as the time and whether the concerns around it have materialized.

In 2022, Russian Railways was forced to respond promptly to the changes. During the year, loading in the direction of unfriendly countries fell by 37%, in the direction of friendly countries — increased by 23%, including by 28% — to China. This increased the demand for the Eastern Polygon.